


Come Morning Light, You and I'll Be Safe and Sound

by dragonsarmors



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable Tony Stark, Anxious Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Has Nightmares, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes Has Panic Attacks, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Speaks Romanian, Bucky is from Romania, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Eventual Winterironshield, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Married stony, Modern Bucky Barnes, Nightmares, Protective Steve Rogers, Reverse Big Bang Challenge, Romanian Bucky Barnes, SHIELD, Tony speaks Italian, Undercover Missions, WinterIronShield Reverse Bang, WinterIronShield Reverse Bang 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26200822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonsarmors/pseuds/dragonsarmors
Summary: With Natasha and Clint out on their own assignment, Fury pairs up Steve and Tony with his best undercover agent, James "Bucky" Barnes. Together they are sent out on a month-long assignment for undercover in a small town HYDRA base. A lot of things can happen in the short span of a month...
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 80
Collections: WinterIronShield Bang Ultimate Collection





	Come Morning Light, You and I'll Be Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> This is my submission for the WInterIronShield Reverse Bang 2020! I had a lot of fun writing this piece and I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> This work was based off art by the incredible Haunted_Frost, you can view this art on both AO3 and Tumblr
> 
> AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26094052  
> Tumblr: https://lyricfrost13.tumblr.com/post/627368927410978816/the-special-agent-is-too-cute 
> 
> This was also Beta Read by Lokilover14, Chris_Quinton, xxxRIPLEYxxx, and Quoshara. Thank you all for your help!

The change from the light and life of the busy hallways of SHIELD Command to the ominous darkness that overtook Fury’s office was a drastic and quick one. 

“What the hell, why does Fury keep it so damn dark in here?” Tony questioned as the doors the director’s office closed behind the couple, “I can’t see anything in here!”

“Stark. Rogers. Have a seat.” Fury said emerging from one of the multiple shadowed corners of the office.

“Are we in trouble?” Tony asked in a voice laced with curiosity and concern.

“Have you two been causing trouble?” Fury said, the single eyebrow not hidden by the eyepatch raised in suspicion.

The couple stared at each other and then back to Fury, Steve finally breaking the silence, “Not that we know of sir.”

“I have heard reports of more than enough PDA occurring while out on assignment, but that is not what I brought you two in to discuss.” Fury said with a cautious stare. “As you both may know, Romanoff and Barton were sent out by themselves for a mission this week, it was a situation where a group of 4 would raise suspicions.” 

“Sir, they get sent out on their own all the time, I’m not following why this concerns us.” Steve butted it.

“If you would let me finish, I would get to that part.” Fury glared.

“I apologize, Sir,” Steve said with a nervous tone in his voice that only Tony could pick up on. Steve knew he could because his hand was squeezed a few times.

“As I was saying, since Romanoff and Barton were sent out on their own, I want both of you placed on another mission. But I brought you both in because it’s going to be a long-term mission and you won’t be working alone.” 

“How long is this long-term mission?” Steve asked.

“And what do you mean we won’t be working alone?” Tony added. 

“It’s a month-long mission, undercover and recon work, getting information and plans from a remote Hydra base in Montana. And I know I don’t send you two on undercover missions very often and so to make sure everything gets done correctly I’m pairing you two with my best undercover agent. Agent Barnes, would you please come here?” 

From another set of shadows in the back corner of the office, a figure seemed to almost magically appear. As he entered the light of the room his short yet fluffy dark brown hair and his kind yet serious face presented itself. The most noticeable thing about him though was a black and gold metal left arm. He was tall and fit and walked in a way that showed his professional demeanor. 

Almost completely in sync, Tony and Steve looked towards Agent Barnes, then at each other and back again. The same thought going through both of their heads: “Oh no, he’s hot.”

Agent Barnes walked up to the speechless pair and shook both of their hands. Smiling in such a beautifully kind way, the kind of way that could seem like it could melt the coldest of hearts. 

“My name is Agent James Barnes, but everyone just calls me Bucky. And you two are?”

There was a moment of silence before Tony cleared his throat and words came back to him, “I’m Tony Stark-Rogers and this is my husband Steve Rogers-Stark. It’s nice to meet you Bucky.”

“Likewise.” Bucky smiled. 

“If you are all done staring at each other, I would like to get to the details of the mission.” Fury said with an annoyed tone to his voice. 

“Yes sir.” The three said almost in perfect unison. 

•••

Steve and Tony were back on their floor at the tower getting their bags packed up for the month-long mission. 

“I don’t know about you, honey, but I find that Agent Barnes to be very appealing.” Steve broke the silence.

“He’s hot, That is what he is, Steve. He’s fucking hot.” Tony said with an exasperated voice.

“I agree.” Steve said with a small nod, “I also quite like him, at least from the little we’ve seen so far.”

“I’m very eager to get to know him more, he’s got potential in more ways than one,” Tony added on with a small wink as he looked over towards his husband. 

Both timid towards putting things into words this early on, they continued packing, both silently wondering if this could be the beginning of much more than just a mission. 

This was going to be an interesting month. 

•••

The Quinjet landed silently outside a small safe house in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. It’s a small unassuming building on the outskirts of a tiny town, everything seemed so calm, it was hard to believe there was a Hydra base anywhere near here. 

The three men walked off the ramp and through the building's front door. The inside housed a small kitchen, a common room with a couch, a bedroom with 2 beds, and a decent-sized bathroom, all SHIELD safe house quality aka like a sketchy roadside motel. 

“Ah, safehouse, shitty safehouse. How I have not missed you.” Tony said as they entered, plopping his bag down on the ground. 

“This is honestly a major upgrade compared to some of the ones I’ve been sent to. Try being in a shack the size of this kitchen with just a bedroll to sleep on and a cupboard of canned food.” Bucky said matter of factly. 

Both Tony and Steve turned to look at him, mildly shocked looks on their faces. 

“How long have you been doing undercover work?” Steve asked. 

“About 10 years now. Been working at SHIELD for about 12. I normally get sent off to remote AIM and Hydra cells for 6 months to a year at a time.” 

The three men continued talking while carrying their bags to the bedroom and beginning to try to make a home out of this place. 

“What do they have you do on such long missions?” Tony asked out of curiosity. 

“I get myself embedded into the cell, usually posing as a new recruit or tech worker. Then over time, I make copies of files, just a few at a time so nobody gets suspicious. During this time I also start to plant spyware into their systems. These remote cells aren’t part of the main networks, think of them as fanatics who try to come up with things that will impress the main branches in hopes of being noticed and promoted.” 

“Hydra fanatics. That’s a terrifying notion.” Steve said.

“Agreed,” Tony added.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, but maybe I’ve just gotten used to it, you can decide for yourselves starting tomorrow. For now, we should probably find something to eat and get some rest, we’ll have to get up early to get into disguises, you two have some pretty recognizable faces.” Bucky chuckled towards the end. 

•••

They found some canned vegetables and beans and were able to turn it into a small soup. It wasn’t much but it would do until they could get more food in town tomorrow. 

Tony stepped out of the small bathroom in his pajama pants and a t-shirt, his hair damp, and a towel around his neck catching the stray water droplets. 

“If either of you two need the shower it’s open. The water pressure sucks but there should hopefully be some hot water left.” Tony said, sitting on one of the beds that creaked as he sat down. 

“I’ll take one in the morning,” Steve said, “It’s all yours Bucky.” 

“Thank you,” Bucky said as he stood up. “Do you mind if I take off my arm out here?” 

“That’s fine with me,” Steve said.

“Only if you’re comfortable,” Tony added in with a small smile. 

“Thanks,” Bucky said, smiling back. He then rolled up his sleeve, opened a small panel towards the area where it joins what remains of his flesh arm. Pressing a few small buttons in sequence, there was a small click and Bucky was able to pull it right off. He carefully set it on his bed, he then grabbed a metal piece from his bag that he clicked into the now open slot. 

“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, Bucky, where did you get that arm?” Tony asked timidly. 

“It’s a long story, we can discuss it later, right now I’m gonna see if you were telling the truth about leaving enough hot water for the rest of us.” Bucky chuckled, closing the door behind him, hoping the other two didn’t notice he tensed up as the question was asked. 

He heard one last thing through the paper-thin walls of the bathroom before turning the shower on.

“I hope I didn’t overstep the line Steve, the tech was just interesting to me, I didn’t mean to make Bucky uncomfortable,” Tony said with a sad tinge to his voice. 

The spray of the water, even though it wasn’t very strong, blocked Bucky from being able to hear anymore conversation from the bedroom. Images were rapidly flashing through his brain, trying to mix themselves with his surroundings, visions of dark cells, blood sprayed everywhere, and blinding lights with sickening chemical smells. Bucky crouched down in the shower, forcing himself to take deep breaths and let the spraying water remind him he was no longer back there.

After gaining some form of composure and standing back up he had thoughts about giving at least a small part of the truth to them like he heard Tony say, the only reason he asked in the first place was the tech interested him. He didn’t know the trauma it came with, hell, Fury doesn’t even fully know the trauma that Bucky had gained on that fateful mission. 

But when he got back out to the bedroom, Tony and Steve were fast asleep, nearly entangled in each other’s limbs. A quick pang of what could be described as something between jealousy and longing hit Bucky, but then it left as soon as it appeared. 

The man just gave a small sigh and a smile, he then turned off the light and climbed into his massively empty bed for the night.

•••  
The three men woke up around 5 am. Bucky was the first one awake, up exactly at 5 am. He then decided to go and try to make some sort of breakfast with what they had. 

While he was starting to warm up some of the leftover soup, Bucky heard some small footsteps and turned to see Tony standing there, short hair somehow sticking up in every direction possible and rubbing his tired eyes.

And just as it did last night, a pang of emotions hit Bucky like a pile of bricks but then disappeared as soon as it came. Though this time it wasn’t jealousy that was mixing in with the longing, it was something else, a feeling deep inside him that Bucky couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it made him feel like he just wanted to protect the small man standing in front of him with every part of his being. 

Tony missed seeing the fact that just for a second, Bucky’s professional demeanor had melted into something with so much care built into it. Opening his eyes just a second too late after a giant yawn. 

“Mornin’, Bucky.” He finally mumbled. He then immediately turned to the cupboard looking like he was on the hunt for something. 

“Good Morning Tony, what are you looking for?” 

Only pausing his search for just a second, he matter of factly stated, “Coffee.” 

“I don’t think there is any, at least when I was looking through the cabinets last night.”

Tony gave a small whimper, but before Bucky could answer Steve walked in and gave his husband a hug from behind. 

“Let me guess, no coffee?” Steve said with mild amusement in his voice, “We’ll get some when we go to the store today, okay hon?” 

“You’re the best, thank you,” Tony said turning around and burying himself into Steve’s chest as he hugged him back. 

“I know. Get some breakfast in you, it’s not the same as coffee but it should wake you up at least a little.” 

“Okay,” Tony said, and then as soon as he turned around, Bucky was standing there with a bowl of the leftover stew. “Thank you” he added with an adorable, still sleepy smile on his face.

Bucky then handed a bowl to Steve and then grabbed one for himself. They all sat down around the small plastic folding table and ate in comfortable silence.

•••

When they arrived back in the bedroom to start getting ready they were all just a little more awake, just as Steve had said. 

“So how exactly are we going to disguise our ‘pretty recognizable faces’, as you described them last night,” Tony said. 

“With these,” Bucky said, pulling out three small cylinders from a pocket in his bag. He handed one to each of the confused men. “Open it up.”

The pair followed Bucky as he unscrewed the top of the cylinder and pulled out what looked like a transparent cloth with blue light pulsing throughout it. 

“This thing is see-through, that doesn’t exactly scream stealthy disguise to me,” Tony said, holding his cloth up to his face and intensely staring at it, trying to figure out what it is. 

“Just watch,” Bucky said with a cheeky smile on his face. He brought the cloth up to his face, and as soon as he pressed it on, it immediately fit itself to his face. He pressed the side of it near his ear once, and then as he lifted his head, there was a completely different face staring at Steve and Tony. 

The pair’s jaws actually did visibly drop, and the word they could manage was just, “Woah.”

The part that made them speechless though was when Bucky talked. The voice of an entirely different person came out as he spoke. He then pressed the button by his ear twice and his face went back to normal as he pulled the cloth off of his face. 

“Where did you get such fancy tech? I've never seen it in SHIELD before, and I sure as hell didn’t make it. Was it Hammer, oh god I hope not you can’t trust anything that man makes.” Tony continued rambling on to himself. 

Steve grabbed his husband’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, reigning in the genius’s thoughts.

“Oh, um sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble on like that. That’ll work just fine.” Tony said, a timid look spreading across his face. 

“Agreed.” Added Steve. 

•••

After showing the pair how to use the disguise cloths, Bucky handed them some wigs that were paired to the cloth and made it look like real hair. 

Before they left, Bucky took a bigger cylinder out of his bag and placed a giant version of the cloth on his metal arm, immediately making it look like a normal flesh and blood arm.

From there they headed out to the base for their Hydra initiation. That was a strange thing to think about.

•••

This base ended up being built in an old store building in town, but no it was not in the store itself, in true Hydra fashion there was a secret door that led to the true base underground. 

The trio was immediately stopped at the base of the hidden staircase. A guard in uniform with a gun sling on his back stood in front of them, “Names.” he said in his gruff and intimidating voice. 

Bucky was first in line, he stood up straight and proclaimed, “Jared Pines.”

The guard just simply nodded and moved to stand in front of Steve, again he just stated “Name.” 

Steve looked the guard in the eyes and said, “Evan Stills.” 

Another nod and the guard moved to be in front of Tony, who was hoping that the guard could not hear Tony’s heart nearly beating out of his chest. 

Tony cleared his throat and looked up towards the guard, “Derek, um, Derek Jones sir.” 

The guard's face had the most minor shift in expression, something so subtle that Bucky barely noticed it, and he hoped that it wasn’t a shift of suspicion. But then he said, “Welcome rookies, go to the main meeting room and you will get your ID cards there. Hail Hydra.”

They said in unison, “Hail Hydra.” and walked past the guard and headed into the base. 

As soon as they were out of the sight of anyone, Steve lightly squeezed Tony’s hand and whispered, “You okay hun?” A mild concern built into his serious face. 

“Yeah, it’s just been a while since I’ve done this and I just froze for a second. But I’m fine.” Tony said, trying to reassure his husband that his anxiety wasn’t going to cause a problem.

“You did just fine, they didn’t suspect a thing,” Bucky reassured him. 

“Thanks,” Tony said with a small smile as the group headed into the meeting room. 

The pang of emotion came back, but this time it stayed just a little longer and this time it was very obvious that the feeling was one of protection. He was pulled out of his head by a staff member entering the room to start orientation.

•••  
3 weeks into the mission

The trio had fallen into a routine pretty quickly, wake up, get coffee (because Tony made sure they had a stockpile), eat breakfast (usually prepared by Bucky), get dressed and into uniform, and head to base. 

They had all been assigned low and menial jobs as they were just rookies, but it was a perfect placement, they would take turns downloading a few files here and there, always cycling through their log-ins to avoid suspicion. 

It was about halfway through this quickly established routine that things got shaky. 

When they came into work one morning they were told to join a few other workers in the meeting room. 

“I wonder what’s going on.” Whispered Tony.

“I’m not quite sure,” Bucky responded. 

They took a seat in the room and waited for the meeting to start. 

Eventually, one of the supervisors showed up and walked to the podium sitting in front of the meeting table. He tapped the microphone and at first, there was some minor feedback, but as he began to speak it went away. 

“I bet you are all curious as to why I’ve called you in here this morning. Especially considering you are just our beginning computer workers. Well, we want you to become more than just our little computer minions, to be an effective soldier of Hydra, one must have multiple skills they can give in service of the greater good. So today you are all being sent out on the basic training course.”

The room exploded in grumbles and disapprovals, but before much opposition could be had the supervisor yelled into his microphone, “SILENCE!” 

“This is required to become a true soldier of Hydra, to refuse training is to be a traitor to everything we stand for. Train today and be closer to being the soldier you were born to be, refuse training, and face the punishment of being a traitor to the Hydra name.” 

Silence filled the room as the supervisor looked around, and seeing no response, he replied.

"Hail Hydra"

“Hail Hydra.” The room said in perfect unison. 

***

The basic training course was pretty much a run of the mill course that could be found on an army base, except this one was painted black and red with Hydra symbols on anything and everything in the course. 

Tony gave a small stifled laugh because this one looked like a pile of twigs compared to the one he had built at the compound. But I guess you can’t expect too much for a Hydra fan club in the middle of nowhere. 

Tony did okay with the course, having run the Avengers one a few times here and there definitely helped with being able to complete it without embarrassing himself. 

Steve had to balance using enough of his super strength to do good on the course, but not enough that it would raise any suspicions as to why he could finish with such ease. Luckily his strength did come in handy because as he was doing his run through the course it began to lightly rain. 

Everyone was still terrified by the supervisor's words from that morning to even think about complaining to move things indoors. 

By the time it was Bucky’s turn to run the course it was damn near downpouring, but again no one, not even Bucky dared to complain. As he reached the end of the course his left arm was starting to freeze up at random intervals. Bucky cursed to himself but completed the course without protest. Just passing it off as sore muscles to the few people who actually noticed and asked.

The group then had to walk back to base in the pouring rain, because apparently, “suffering is part of being a true soldier” or some shit like that. 

Even after they had gotten out of the rain, the movement in Bucky’s arm still hadn’t improved, but he still kept it to himself, tuning out the concerned expression that Steve and Tony shared. 

•••

They got back to the safe house for the night and the damn thing still wouldn’t move, and that was the last straw for Bucky. He took off the arm and slammed it down on his bed, yelling “Acest braț stupid se rupe mereu!” (this stupid arm always breaks!) and then he hung his head pressing it into his one remaining hand. 

Both Steve and Tony stood there for a second, looking at Bucky with faces of loving concern. They looked towards each other and shared a silent nod. 

They both walked towards Bucky’s bed, Steve sitting on his right side, and Tony picking up the arm and sitting on his left. They just sat there, not wanting to invade his space, but at least try to help comfort him. 

Tony whispered, “Tesoro, it’s okay.” 

The sudden nickname caused Bucky to look up towards Tony, tears on the rims of his eyes. 

“What did you say?” Bucky asked softly.

“Oh uh… Tesoro, it’s Italian for Treasure, I guess it just slipped out, sorry.” Tony mumbled back. 

“No, no, I liked it, Tony, thank you.” A small smile curled on his lips. 

“Just wait until you hear all the other nicknames he has.” Steve chuckled with a smile on his face.

Bucky’s eyes widened and his body froze in place. Standing up quickly Bucky stuttered out “I’m just going to go take a shower now,” and nearly ran into the bathroom.

The door slammed shut and even though they had no idea what just happened, the sudden change in Bucky’s actions broke their hearts. What did they do wrong?

•••

They moved back over to their bed and after a few minutes of silent contemplation, Steve spoke up, “I didn’t mean to freak him out, I was just trying to say how you have some cute nicknames for those you love and he was going to get to learn some more.”

“That means you must have picked up on it as well, I was afraid I was being a bit too subtle.” Tony chuckled. 

“Just to make sure we’re on the same page, let’s say what we’re thinking of on the count of three. 1… 2… 3!”

In almost perfect unison they said, “I want to date Bucky!” They then looked up at each other with the biggest smiles. 

“I guess that’s settled then.” They shared a light kiss on the lips. 

“Now it’s just up to him if he wants to join our crazy plan,” Steve said. 

“I think I’ll start by fixing up his arm, I’ve got a set of precision tools in my bag, rain shouldn’t cause that thing to break so easily. Though this will just be a temporary fix, as soon as we get home I’m making him a brand new arm with the best technology around.” 

“That sounds like a great plan hon.” Steve smiled. “I might show him some of the drawings I’ve made since we’ve been here. He’s a very good subject.” 

“Ah, that’s why you always seem to have a sketch pad out all night, I think he’ll love it, dear.” Tony grinned at his husband as he stood up to start work on Bucky’s arm. 

•••

The pair got so invested in making their plan they didn’t even notice the shower had never started. Bucky stood against the paper-thin wall, tears resurfacing in his eyes, but this time they weren’t of fear of intruding on something he could never have, they were ones of hope, they were of love. 

Bucky opened the bathroom door and walked silently back towards the couple. 

“Hey, Bucky! I hope you don’t mind but I was going to make some adjustme-“ Tony turned around and saw the tear tracks that lined Bucky’s face shining in the soft light coming from the lamp, as well as the man’s red-rimmed eyes that were still wet with more tears, “Oh Tesoro, what’s wrong?”

This also captured Steve’s attention, his expression immediately melting into one of concern and care. 

The two men stood up and walked up to Bucky who seemed to be frozen in place. As he opened his mouth to speak, the tears that had been resting on the rims of his eyes spilled over and followed the tracks down. 

“Did… did you really mean that?” Bucky spoke quietly, trying to keep himself from sobbing.

“Mean what?” Steve asked, wanting to make sure they were on the same page. 

“I heard you two talking… um, through the wall. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on your conversation. It's just that the wall is really thin.” Bucky chuckled, a few more tears spilling over, “And I don’t want to intrude on your relationship but… I heard you say you wanted to date me?” 

Steve and Tony looked at each other and gave a silent nod and then turned back towards Bucky. 

“Of course we do, we love you so much.” The two men said almost in unison. 

That broke the dam for Bucky, his sobs starting silently but quickly becoming louder and messier. Before he knew it though, he was wrapped in a full-body hug, and he knew he was safe and he was loved. 

•••

Last day of the mission.

The three were slowly starting to get closer and the plan was beginning to take shape. Bucky was beyond grateful for the repairs Tony made to his arm, he got it waterproofed to the point where he didn’t even have to take it off for showers, which provided a sense of ease that Bucky hadn’t had since he lost his arm all those years ago. 

Both Tony and Steve were taking turns with Bucky with preparing the meals, and whenever Tony was the one cooking, Steve sat at the table with Bucky showing off the different drawings and doodles he had made of the three of them, showcasing all of the moments they shared during this month, of all the moments of joy in this little life they had gotten used to.

It was going to be strange going back home, would they be able to stay close, or would missions just push them apart again as quickly as it had put them together? It was a thought lingering in the back of all of their heads, but they were all too afraid to talk about it. Almost as if talking about it would cause it to become true and their little world would implode. 

But today was not the day to be distracted by the feelings of an unsure future, because today was the day the spyware needed to be uploaded to the Hydra cell’s system so SHIELD could continue to access the files long after these three were back home. 

This was the most important part because they would have to avoid their coworkers, supervisors, and even parts of the system itself to make sure the bug would be uploaded without anything being triggered that could blow their cover in an instant. 

The plan was going great… until everything fell apart in an instant. 

They were in the middle of getting the program uploaded to the server when all suddenly the security system inside the network was set off and everyone in the building was locked out. A loud piercing alarm began to ring throughout the facility. Tony immediately pulled out the drive that had been uploading the bug and he shoved it deep in his pocket. 

Tony’s head was racing, trying to figure out what step he missed that somehow set off the alarms. His hands shook as he went over every step in his head over and over again, trying to find the spot where everything fell apart. 

But before he could think much longer, the alarm from the security system went quiet, a tense and uncomfortable silence filling the entire base in its absence. Then a loud robotic voice came over the intercom: “A traitor has been located, everyone must report to the main hall for the traitor’s punishment delivery. Hail Hydra.” 

The whole facility cried “Hail Hydra” back so loudly that the echo ran throughout the tunnels for a few seconds. 

Needless to say, the guys were terrified. They quietly filed into the line that was leaving their sector and heading towards the main hall, having quickly squeezed each other’s hands in reassurance, each of them trying to stay strong for the other two. 

The march to the main hall felt years long, so each of the men were making plans in their heads on what they could do to save the lives of their partners. Each of them was ready to give their life in exchange for knowing that the other’s would be safe. 

As soon as all of the soldiers in the base were corralled into the main hall, an eerie silence lingered in the air until you could hear the distinct sound and following echo of the commander’s boots walking up to the podium. 

He stood tall above the crowd with an emotionless expression on his face. “Hail Hydra!” He yelled.

The base responded in unison with an even louder and more terrifying, “Hail Hydra!” 

The commander continued, “A traitor has been found hiding within our ranks. Someone who has abused the trust entrusted to them by Hydra, both at this base and as a whole. They abused this trust by stealing documents for purposes other than the advancement of Hydra, in fact, the documents were stolen to be handed off to the enemy.”

Tony, Steve, and Bucky all stood in place, holding their breaths, waiting for the inevitable to occur. 

“The traitor will now be brought up to have the proper punishment delivered upon them.”

Multiple pairs of footsteps could be heard coming from a hallway behind the commander’s podium. Soon two guards came into view leading a younger-looking man in a lab coat onto the stage. 

As the crowd erupted into a symphony of boos and hisses, the three men stood there confused as to how it wasn’t them, but still on edge that this could be a trap and that they were the identified traitors. 

Silence fell over the crowd as the commander began to talk again, “This man joined our ranks as the scientist, Mark Lewis. But it was recently found out that a majority of the research done here has been copied to outside servers or even disappeared completely under Mark’s login. And today we found out that this man is not Mark Lewis, he is actually Tyler Jones one of the head scientists of the AIM base in Wyoming, and he has been funneling our research for the glorious advancement of Hydra right into the hands of the enemy. This extreme level of betrayal calls for an extreme punishment to change this traitor’s loyalty and put him on the path towards redemption.”

Bucky immediately froze in place, fearful memories overtaking his thought process. These words were almost the exact same to the ones that were said to him before his arm was cut off to prove his own loyalty to another Hydra cell.

The memories flooding back into Bucky’s head caused him to zone out yet still completely absorb Tyler’s punishment taking place in front of him, it was almost an exact recreation of his own punishment, except Tyler would be receiving a new leg instead.

The difference didn’t matter because Bucky’s mind immediately kicked into overdrive. He was no longer in the hall. First, he was in a damp and dark cell, the smell of mildew taking over everything. In an instant, the scene changed and now he was tied down on an ice-cold metal slab, shivering, but then warm blood sprayed all over him. Then things changed yet again and his eyes were blinded by old fluorescent lights and a chemical smell made him nearly gag. Over and over these scenes played in his head, he was back there.

Bucky trapped inside of his memories, eyes glazed over, and breathing becoming slightly erratic. But somehow even though his brain was in hell, his body stayed at attention, like it knew that if it gave in and broke down that the hell in his head would become reality yet again.

Steve immediately picked up on the slight changes, used to helping Tony through flashbacks and random panic attacks. He knew he had to get them all out of there right away. The ceremony drew to a close and Steve got Tony to turn around and help him lead Bucky out of the base, the two surprised at how he moved with such ease even while completely unresponsive.

They led him out of the base and into the car. Tony nearly flew out of the parking lot and was speeding the whole way back towards the safehouse, determined to get Bucky as far away from the cause of the flashback as possible. 

It wasn’t until they were outside the city limits again that Bucky let out a small gasp that would have been barely noticeable to most people. Steve heard it immediately and turned towards their shaken boyfriend that was sitting next to him.

“Are you back with us hon?” Steve said with a soft, comforting voice that only came out when bringing Tony out of his episodes.

“I… um, I think so,” Bucky said with an audible gulp. 

“What happened, Tesoro?” Tony said as he finally pulled the car up to the safehouse. 

“Don’t feel pressured to tell us, but just know that we are here for you,” Steve added in.

“It um… the ceremony just reminded me of another time I had to see one of those during a mission at a different cell a few years back. Those are just a bit uncomfortable to watch. Thank you for helping me out of there, but I’m fine now.” Bucky stammered as he climbed out of the car and went inside without another word.

Steve and Tony shared a sad and concerned expression for their new love. 

“There’s definitely more to that story, I could hear it in his voice, and I don’t want to force him to talk if he isn’t ready, but I have a feeling this is going to come back again tonight. I’m intimately familiar with the after-effects of a flashback.” 

“I’ll be ready to get up when that happens. We’re going to make sure he knows he isn’t alone anymore.” A caring smile coming back across Steve’s face. 

“Agreed.” 

•••

Later that night

Bucky had stayed silent for the rest of the evening, still seeming detached from reality as he ate only a small portion of his dinner and then immediately heading to bed. 

Tonight Steve took the spot on their bed that was closer to Bucky so he would be able to get up and over to their boyfriend quickly and without having to climb over Tony. 

And just as Steve had predicted, at about 1 am, Bucky began to twitch and mumble in his sleep, but that very quickly turned to tossing and turning and desperate whispers. 

“Lasă-Mă în pace! asta doare, Te rog opreștete!” (Leave me alone! It hurts, please stop!) Bucky kept repeating with a pained and fearful expression twisting onto his face. 

Steve was already getting up from the bed when one of the things that came out of Bucky’s mouth stopped him in his tracks. 

“Steve… Tony… Ajutaţi-Mă, Vă rog.” (Help me, please) At this point, there was a constant stream of tears coming from Bucky’s eyes. 

Steve didn’t know exactly what Bucky had said, but with the fact he said their names, it was a cry for help. He immediately kneeled on the ground next to Bucky’s bed, gently shaking his shoulder, “It’s okay dear, we’re both here and you are safe with us. We love you, come back to us.” 

At this point, Tony was sitting up in bed and crawling over to join Steve in assuring their boyfriend that he was safe and not wherever his brain was trying to trick him into thinking. 

After about 10 minutes of repeating assurances and loving nicknames, that all felt hours long, Bucky finally gasped and bolted upright in bed with a scream that was choked off by the tears rushing from his eyes. Immediately Tony and Steve began to try to comfort him by placing their hands on his shoulders and eventually wrapping him in a giant hug. 

“Dragă?” (Dear?) Bucky eventually whispered through the tears. 

“Yes Tesoro, va bene, sei al sicuro.” (it’s okay, you’re safe) Tony said in a soft voice as he planted a light kiss on Bucky’s forehead. 

That broke the remaining wall that Bucky had and he collapsed into the supportive arms of his boyfriends and let himself just sob because the pain was still trying to consume him but he knew he was safe when he was with them. 

It took about 15 minutes before Bucky was able to slow down the tears and look up into the loving faces that were protecting him, “I guess I owe you both an explanation.” 

“Only if you are comfortable.” The two men said together. 

That caused a smile to creep into Bucky’s face for the first time since that morning. 

•••

Bucky recounted the story of how during his 2nd undercover mission he was sent to a Hydra cell in the mountains of Utah. Since he was still getting used to the unique challenges of undercover work, as he was getting some files copied he accidentally clicked on a file that was a trap built into the system. This cell had dealt with spies before so they planted a few fake files into the system that if someone attempted to download them it would immediately notify the commanders.

But the trap part was they wouldn’t be locked out of the system, there wasn’t even an alarm that would sound. The “traitor” would just continue working as normal until two armed guards would come and force them to the holding cell until their punishment was decided by the commanders. 

So Bucky had been taking to the holding cell, and during this entire time he wasn’t sure what he had done wrong, no one would tell him, but he knew he was in major trouble. After what felt both like a few minutes and weeks spent in the holding cell, two new guards came to escort him out and onto the platform in the main hall. 

It was there he was given almost the same monologue on how his punishment was going to set him onto the path of “redemption” in the eyes of Hydra. He then was forced to watch as his arm was efficiently, in a morbid sense of the work, cut off by the commander of the Cell. 

Bucky didn’t remember much after that because he passed out from blood loss, but when he woke up he was sitting in the base’s small medical area with a metal arm in the place where he had his flesh one that morning. 

He managed to sneak out of the facility because there was little to no security in the medical area and as soon as he made it to the safe house he called Shield and was extracted from the mission immediately. He was forced to take a few months off, both for getting used to working with the new arm and to deal with the traumatic loss. 

•••

By the time Bucky was finished telling the story he had a renewed stream of tears coming from his eyes and his breath began to pick up speed, hurdling him towards a post-nightmare panic attack.

Tony and Steve tightened their hug around the shaking man and continued to whisper assurances that he was safe and that he wasn’t alone anymore. Steve grabbed Bucky’s flesh arm and placed it on his chest, instructing him to follow his breaths. After what felt like forever, Bucky’s breaths evened out, still skipping occasionally but indicating he was coming down from the attack. Helping him stand up slowly as he was still shaking, the couple led him over to their bed so he wouldn’t have to try to go back to sleep on sweaty, tangled sheets and to surround him in comfort. 

Tony laid completely to the right of the bed, his back nearly lining up with the wall, Steve on the left end. Both of them faced Bucky as he tried to get comfortable in the middle. 

As soon as he found a comfortable position the other two men scooted closer and enveloped him in a protective cocoon of a hug. 

Tony whispered into Bucky’s ear, “ti vogliamo bene.” And Steve repeated him in English, “We love you.” And shortly after that, all three men fell asleep, enveloped in safety and love. 

•••

Bucky was the first to wake up in the morning and he looked around him sighing in relief. His dream after the nightmare was true, he was finally surrounded by the men he loved. A smile gracing his face as he tried to fall back asleep to savor the moment for just a little longer. 

Eventually, they did have to all get up to finish getting packed so they would be ready to go when the Quinjet arrived to take them back to New York. 

Tony worked on breakfast with Bucky as they tried to use up the rest of the perishable groceries so they would leave rotten food for the next agents who used the safehouse. They were laughing and smiling as they made a game out of it, Steve sitting at the plastic table behind them drawing this memory to be saved forever in his sketchbook. 

The other two soon joined Steve at the table presenting the mismatched spread they made, all of the men sitting and eating with big smiles on their faces in between bites. Bucky eventually did speak up with the question that was on his mind, “So if you don’t mind me asking, since you two are already married, what does that make us?” 

Steve was the one to speak up first, “I think for now you are our boyfriend, we don’t want to rush you, but when you would be ready I’m pretty sure that Shield can pull some strings so we can all be married.” 

“That sounds like a good plan.” Bucky said, “Te iubesc atat de mult.”

“Out of curiosity, what does that mean? I’ve somewhat learned some of Tony’s Italian nicknames and such but I’ve never heard that language before.”

“Oh! Yeah it’s Romanian, I don’t use it very often but it means ‘I love you so much.’” 

“Well, I absolutely love it.” Steve told the blushing man. 

“Agreed and ti vogliamo bene, Bucky. We love you so much.” 

They heard the distinct sound of the Quinjet landing in the field next to the house signaling it was time to go home. They all stood up and exchanged kisses and went to grab their things.

•••

When they got back to New York they got wonderful news during the debrief that even though the systems had gotten locked yesterday as they were trying to upload the spyware, enough of the program was uploaded that the surveillance department was able to complete getting access to the server. The mission had gone perfectly, in more ways than one. 

After a few discussions with Fury, he eventually conceded to having Bucky go out on shorter missions and always being paired with Tony and Steve, and it took a bit longer but he was able to pull the strings enough to set it where the three were to be married. 

It ended up being a small ceremony at the Compound a few months after returning from Montana. In the interim, the three had been falling deeper and deeper in love with each other. Tony kept his promise of making a new arm for Bucky and Steve began to show him how to draw so he could capture memories as well. 

The ceremony was attended by the rest of the Avengers and a few people from Shield. It included Steve and Tony renewing their own vows and then each of them exchanging new ones with Bucky. Of course, all three of them said “I do,” and kissed with their now two husbands as the small crowd cheered for them. 

If you had told Bucky at the beginning of that month the end of the mission he was going to have finally discovered the loves of his life, he would have never believed it. After all, he never expected more out of life than work because he thought there was no one out there for him. And if you had told Steve and Tony that their hearts would grow to both love the same man so deeply that it would be now impossible to imagine life without him, they would have said that wasn’t ever going to be a possibility. 

Love finally found them all and they wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.


End file.
